The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-15
LETTER FROM GEN. JACKSON.
A Hitherto Unpublished Epistle of
Great Interest

! A Decatur, (Alal., letter to the Missouri
Republicans avs:
From a gentleman who now lives in Flor
ence, Ala, l obtained letters written by Gen,
jackson that are incorporated below, and
also Others that will hereafter appear in
| print as fast as they can be arranged for
publication. The letters were written to the
| father of the gentleman who gave them to
me. The recipient of the letters was the
intimate friend, the occasional business part
ner, and the political lieutenant of Gen.
| Jackson He was man prominent in poll
| tics, eminent in finance, renowned in state
craft and exalted in society. The letters
were left among his private papers in the
| care of his wife, and by her, till the day of
| her recent death, were treasured as relics
| from which links were made claiming the
past to the present. They have never been
made public, and were given to me with the
expressed condition that the name of the re-
cipient and donor be suppressed. Not on &C
count of any unpleasant associations con-
nected with their publication, but simply
| that the family do not desire newspaper no
| toriety. As to the genuineness of the docu-
ments refer you to any reputable citizen of
| Florence
| The different letters cover a period when
| events were happening that formed the early
| her breakfast ofindigestible American man.
| hood, her dinner of the same food and was
| again receiving her supper, after which she
went to sleep and left America in peace.
This country was then in its swaddling
clothes; her institutions were infants; her
| finance crippled her credit i'll danger; war
was going on by ocean, lake and land. The
Spanish were contesting the right to the
| Mississippi river; France possessed Amer1-
| can territory England was arousing the
| savages to bloodshed, rapine and murder;
the Dey of Algiers was robbing Ameri-
can merchantmen and Decatur was sent
to Tripoli to thrash the ALGERIAN pirates.
| WORDS WERE THEN BEING UTTERED
that live in history and song to-day, that
| were uttered when order blossomed as
| flower from chaos, and will end only when
| time slips into the bosom of eternity. The
gallant Lawrence was crying from the deck
of the Chesapeake:
Don't give up the Ship" Perry sent the
message, owe have met the enemy and they
are ours" Francis Key wrote his soul-stir
ring song, "The Star Spangled Banner;n
the grand idea of free trade and sailors
rights was being expounded; the Semi
noles were driven to Lake Okeechobee, and
the Indians on the Canadian frontier were
| allowed TO rove without bride in their
| murderous invasion; Dick johnson had slain
| the great Tecumseh, and Andrew jackson,
| the writer of these letters, was waging war
| against foe more bloodthirsty, relentless,
venOmous and deadly, more willy, stealthy
| and dangerous. who were foraging upon the
inland borders of advancing civilization.
The dangerous Creeks, led by the dauntless
! warrior chief, WitherfOrd, were devastat-
ing pioneer homes and committing murder
| Gus depredations against the people of the
| interior. With a handful of Tennessee
volunteers and the raw and unarmed militia
1 ~ A LII I..lr
to suppress the Greeks. That he did 50, the
battles of Callabee, of Antossee, Tallushat-
chez, Talladega, Ennickfau and Tohopeka
| or Horseshoe Bend" all testify. 1t was at
Tohopeka that Chief Witherford delivered
his defiant defense to Gen. jackson in
words that be spoke the man, and that should
sound their sentiment in every ear to-day
as they did then. Driven into narrow
bend from which there was no escape, he
delivered himself of the following words, as
| reported by Gen jackson himself:
81 am in your power. Do with me as you
please. am a soldier | have done the
white people all the harm could. have
fought them, and fought them bravely. If
had an army would yet fight and CON
tend to the last. But | have none. My
people are all gone | can do no more than
weep oyer the misfortune of my nation.
| Once could animate my warriors to battle,
but cannot animate the dead. Ny war
riors can no longer hear my voice. Their
bones are at Talladega, Tallusatchee, En-
nickfau and Tahopel. have not surrend-
eredmyself tholghtlessly. While there were
chances for success / never left my post nor
supplicated for peace. But me people are
| gone and now ask it formy nation and my
selfn
TO THE TENNESSEE TROOPS.
Below will be found a letter written by
Gen. Jackson, Jan. 5, 1914:
| HEADQUARTERS Fort STRoTHERs, Jan
s. 1S14.-To Col Leland's Regiment of East
Tennessee Troops: Maj. Gen. Coke has re-
| ported to me that your term of service ex-
pires on the 18th instant / therefore as
/ sumo no claim upon your services beyond
that period. But although | cannot demand
| the further continuation of your services
as a right, may nevertheless hope to obtain
it when appeal to your patriotism. For
what purpose was it that you quilted your
homes and penetrated the country of the
| enemyl Was it not to avenge the blood of
/ your fellowcitizens, inhumanly slain by
that enemy, to obtain security in future for
| our extended and unprotected frontier,
| to signalize the valor by which you were
animated2 VIII any of these objects have
been attained by abandoning the campaign
at the present perioda Not one. But an
opportunity shall soon be afforded you of
attaining them all. If you have really be3n
actuated by the feelings and governed by
the motives which, your commanding Gen
eral presumes, influenced you to take up
| arms, none of you can resist the appeal nor
| hesitate to embrace with eagerness the OPP
| portunity which is about to be offered you.
The enemy, more than half conquered, but
| deriving encouragement and hope from the
| hardness of our operations and the distrac-
tons which have prevailed in our camp,
are again assembling below us. Another
lesson must be furnished them of awful
admonition. They must again be made to
| feel the weight Of that power which they
have so unprovokedly incensed to war, and
to know that though freemen may be slow
TO take up arms they never finally lay them
| down until the objects are attained which
| urged them TO the resort; but an admonitory
| lesson is about to be furnished them. In
| less than q week / shall have the encamp-
ment to meet them. VIII any of you ac-
company mel Are there not many among
| you who, at such moment as this, would
| think it sacrifice to the feelings of honor to
have them measured by the computations of
timer What if the period has expired for
which You rendered your services, is this a
| consideration for the patriotic sons Of Ten
neSsee, who came forth 10 redress the in
| jured rights Of their country and to acquire
for themselves a name of gloryg Is it con-
sideration with you when those objects have
been unattained, and when an opportunity